CVE-2021-30681 Path traversal in iOS and iPadOS
A malicious application can exploit symlink validation flaws to gain root privileges on Apple iOS and macOS systems.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2021-30681?
CVE-2021-30681 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 8 Sep 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
A validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks. This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2021-004 Mojave, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5. A malicious application may be able to gain root privileges.
Weakness: CWE-20
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-30681?
It affects 5 products.
Products include Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Mac Os X, Apple Macos, Apple Watchos.
How do I fix CVE-2021-30681?
No fix has been published for CVE-2021-30681 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2021-30681 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-30681 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados
- CVE-2025-43300 Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write
- CVE-2025-24201 Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write
- CVE-2025-24085 Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free
- CVE-2025-31200 Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption
- CVE-2025-31201 Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write
Sources
Also known as GHSA-282h-xw4x-7x34.